Rotary display rack



Jan. 13, 1959 R. c. SEYFORTH 8,

ROTARY DISPLAY RACK Filed May 3, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2- INVEN TOR.

- Ffl/VE C 515' YFORTH A TTORNEV5- ROTARY DISPLAY RACK Rome C. deyforth,Shelby, Ghio, assignor to The Shelby lgdlftal Products (30., Shelby,Ohio, a corporation of Application May 3, 1955', Serial No; 505,601

1 Claim. (Cl; 211-95) The present improvements, relating as indicated todisplay racks, have more particular regard to a multi-sided rack adaptedto be rotatably supportedtso that articles of merchandise attached tothe respective sides thereof may be readily inspected by a prospectivepurchaser.

One principal object is to provide a rack of the type in question whichwill be simple and inexpensive to construct and which will require aminimum of specially designed parts. A further object is so to constructthe rack that it may be readily assembled by the prospective user and somay be shipped in disassembled form. A further object is to provide arack that may be readily mounted on an independent stand, supported on acounter, or attached to a side wall or hung from a ceiling.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention,then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularlypointed out in the claim.

The annexed drawings and the following description set forth in detailcertain structure embodying the inven tion, such disclosed meansconstituing, however, but one of various structural forms in which theprinciple of the invention may be used.

In said annexed drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of my' improved display rack inportable form, i. e. mounted on an independent base so that it may beplaced either on a counter, floor, or other similar support, as desired,the upper and lower corners of said rack being broken away to show insection the manner in which certain component parts are assembled;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the rack taken on the plane indicatedby the line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is similarly a section thereof taken on the plane indicated bythe line 33, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a broken perspective view showing the construction and mannerof attachment to the sides of the rack of the hangers wherefrom thearticles to be displayed are suspended;

Fig. 5 is a broken sectional view of the structure thus illustrated inFig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view of the rack similar to that of Fig. 1but showing the rack as supported from a side wall or other verticalsurface; and

Fig. 7 similarly shows such rack as suspended from a ceiling or otherhorizontal surface.

Referring to the several views of my improved rack shown in Figs. 1, 2and 3, said rack will be seen to comprise essentially two verticallyspaced plates 1 and 2, such plates being square with their cornersaligned. Such plates will desirably be made of wood or equivalent lightweight material capable of being readily entered by nails or screws, aswill be presently described. Attached at their respective ends to suchaligned corners of plates 1 and 2 are strips 3, preferably made ofmetal, which are of the cross-sectional form shown in Fig. 2. Fromreference to this figure it will be seen that the inner 23353335Patented Earn. 13:, 1959 portion of each such strip comprises tworectangnlarly related websfimto which, there is joined by a rib 3b anouter portion comprising webs 30 that are disposed in parallel relationto said webs 3a. The spaces between the two opposed pairs of websaccordingly form grooves 3d, the spacing of the webs being such as adaptsuch grooves to receive and conceal the lateral edges of members 4 thatform the. sides of the rack.

Such sides 4 are of plate-like form and may be made of any suitablematerial, but preferably will consist of sheets known commercially aspegboard, which is ordinarily made of compressed fibrous or semi-plasticmaterial and is characterized by having a series of holes 5 punchedtherein in equi-distant relation to each other, as best shown in Fig. 4.

The overall dimensions of the upper or top plate 1 will be slightlygreater than those of the lower or bottom plate 2, and the lower edge ofsaid top plate will be rabbetted to form a recess 6 along each sidethereof, the depth of which inwardly is a little greater than thethickness of the pegboard sides 4. Desirably such depth will besufiicient so that'not only will the upper edges of said boards be thusconcealed, but also the upper ends of the strips 3, so as to present anicely finished appearance when the parts in question are assembledtogether. In order to add to such appearance the upper edges of theplate '1 may be curved or molded, as shown in Figs. 1, 6 and 7. Thelower edges of the strips 3 in side walls 4 overlap the correspondingcorners and edges of the lower plate 2 so that the latter is entirelyconcealed thereby.

In assembling the parts thusfar described, the strips 3 are initiallyattached to the corresponding aligned corners of the top and bottomplates l and 2 by means of nails or screws 7 that pass through the webs3a into the adjacent edge of the plate. In this connection it will benoted that the webs in question are wider than the outer webs 3c of thestrip, also-that they are relatively thin and of tapering form so as tofit smoothly against the edge of a side members 4 when inserted in thegroove between such web and the opposed outer web 30 of the strip.

As a result of the attachment of the ribs to the top and bottom platesin the manner just described, an open frame is in efiect provided andthe side members may thereupon be inserted in place by simply slidingthem from the bottom of the structure into the oppositely directedgrooves provided by corresponding corner strips. When in place, suchside walls may then be secured by means of screws or nails 8 along theupper and lower edges to the opposed edges of the upper and lower plates1 and 2. The rack thus takes the form of a rigid box of generallyrectangular form, although it will be understood that, if desired, thetop and bottom plates may be triangular or have more than four sides,and so may be described generally as of polygonal form.

For the purpose of rotatably supporting the rack, a rod or pipe N isprovided, such rod extending through central openings ll and 12 in thetop and bottom plates 1 and 2 (see Fig. 1). As shown in said figure, thelower 0 end of the rod is firmly secured to a stand l3, which is in turnadapted to be secured by screws or other fastening means to anindependent base 14 of adequate size to carry the rack when fullyloaded. Alternatively, said p stand may be secured directly to a counteror any other pegboard, the holes therein are adapted to receive hooks 16of the form illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, such hooks being made of loopof wire, the free ends of which are angled so as to enable them to beinserted, when in the dotted position shown in Fig. 5, in any twoadjacent holes 5 in the board, and then to drop into full line positionWhere they will remain securely locked in place. The articles ofmerchandise to be displayed on the rack will ordinarily be attached tocards or placed in envelope-like containers, and the latter will thensimply be hung on such hooks. In order to accommodate articles orcontainers therefor of different size, the hooks may be disposedtransversely or vertically as required.

In case it is desired to support the rack from a wall or similarvertical surface, the stand 13 may be replaced by a bracket 18, and toinsure stability a second bracket 17 is connected to the upper end ofthe pipe 10, as shown in Fig. 6.. In this form, the bracket 18, orrather an elbow 16a on its outer end, replaces the stand 13, theconstruction being otherwise unchanged.

Alternatively, if it is desired to support the rack from the ceiling,the pipe 10 is provided with an extension 10a of suitable length beyondthe upper plate 1, and such end secured to the ceiling by suitablefitting 19, as shown in Fig. 7. A cap 20, that is threaded onto thelower end of the pipe, and a ball-bearing and washer interposed betweensuch cap and plate 2, serve to rotatably support the rack just as in thefirst-described form (see Fig. 3).

Despite its simple construction and ease of assembly, the hereinbeforedescribed rack not only presents an attractive appearance, but is alsosufficiently sturdy to carry a considerable load of merchandise. At thesame time it may be readily rotated on the ball-bearing provided forthis purpose so that articles on any side thereof may be readilyinspected by a would-be purchaser.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employedinstead of the one explained, change being made as regards the structureherein disclosed, provided the means stated by the following claim orthe equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

A display rack comprising vertically spaced polygonal plates withaligned corners, vertical strips extending between said plates at thecorner regions thereof, each of said strips comprising interconnectedinner and outer angular Webs in spaced relation forming longitudinalgrooves laterally displaced at an angle corresponding to that of thecorner regions of the plates between which it extends, the inner webs ofsaid strips being wider than the outer webs thereof, side membersdesigned to receive and support articles of merchandise, said membersbeing fitted between adjacent pairs of said strips with the lateraledges of the same received and concealed in the strip grooves, thoseportions of the strip grooves thus receiving the lateral edges of theside members being of a width at least equal to the thickness of suchside members, the uppermost plate being recessed to receive the upperedges of said side members, a shaft on which the assembly is mounted forrotation extending centrally through the vertical-spaced plates, and abearing associated with said shaft on which the lower of said platesrests.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,328,324 Gwyer Jan. 20, 1920 1,475,041 Alstott Nov. 20, 1923 1,677,318Alexander July 17, 1928 1,732,131 Mahaifey Oct. 15, 1929 1,801,058Sutcliffe Apr. 14, 1931 1,801,453 Patterson Apr. 21, 1931 1,933,203Azwell Oct. 31, 1933 1,965,904 Mitchell July 10, 1934 2,376,570 BergerMay 22, 1945 2,446,016 Lessin July 27, 1948 2,456,929 Dee Dec. 21, 19482,514,795 Remke July 11, 1950 2,621,429 Teich Dec. 16, 1952

